“I know that,” said Joanna.

“Then . . . ?”

“I didn’t say I had a case or anything, did I? It’s just that we’ve been gathering information on Blaydon over at Criminal Intelligence for quite some time now, and while we have no evidence we could use in court, we’re convinced that he’s involved in a number of criminal activities. Maybe he’s up to something in Eastvale?”

“More criminal than property development?”

“As an adjunct. A cover, if you like. We’ve got him connected with a dodgy accountant and a High Street lawyer suspected of money laundering.”

“What? Here in Eastvale?”

“Don’t get your underpants in a knot, Alan. It’s all just been flagged. There’s no action required as yet. These things take time and careful planning if we’re to build a workable case. They’re clever, sneaky customers we’re dealing with here, not your typical smash-and-grab merchants.”

“Why weren’t Homicide and Major Crimes informed?”

“Like I said, it’s a fresh flag. It’ll probably be in your next county memo, if you bother to read those. The point is, we’ve got links, however tenuous, between Blaydon and these two. Not to mention the Kerrigans. It’s what we do in Criminal Intelligence.”

“So what are they up to, in addition to planning mega projects?”

“A few things. As you probably know, sterling’s pretty low at the moment and the bottom’s falling out of the housing market.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, it creates an ideal opportunity for foreign buyers. High-end properties, especially. In the millions. Mostly London and the stockbroker belt, of course, but also places like Harrogate, some posher suburbs of Leeds. York. So on.”

“It still doesn’t sound illegal.”

“We think some of the buyers are using it as an opportunity for money laundering and that Blaydon is facilitating it for them.”

“The new development, too?”

“Hard to do without some foreign investment.”

“Go on.”

“We’ve also got pictures of him meeting with various people in various places. A few of the ones we’ve been able to identify so far are men connected with criminal enterprises, mostly originating in Albania and some of the other Balkan states.”

“What enterprises would these be?”

“Mostly drugs and guns. Possibly sex trafficking.”

Banks thought of Zelda. “I know someone who might be able to help you with any pictures you haven’t identified yet. She knows the sex traffic world inside out, and she’s a super-recognizer.”

“I’ve heard of them. Never forget a face. How terrible to have to carry all that around with you. Everyone you’ve ever seen.”

“Even the ugly ones,” said Banks. “The point is, she could help you. She works with the NCA in London on a part-time basis, but she lives up Lyndgarth way.”

“Fine. Fix something up. We’d be glad of the help. Facial recognition software can only get us so far. Anyway, to continue, we’re also convinced that Blaydon has access to inside information—not just politicians, but police, too—but we don’t know exactly who on the inside is on his payroll.”